Anaang people
Anaang (also spelled Annang and Ànnang) is an ethnic group[2] in Southern Nigeria, whose land is primarily within 8 of the present 31 Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State: Abak, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ikot Ekpene, Obot Akara, Oruk Anam, Ukanafun in Akwa Ibom State.The proper name for the Ika of Akwa Ibom is Ika-Annang, [4]a reflection of their intimate connection to their Annang identity.[6] The gradual movement of the Proto Anaang to the Cross River Region may have been associated with the expansion of Sahel agriculture in the African Neolithic period, following the desiccation of the Sahara in c. 3500 BCE.Early European traders who arrived in the Cross River territories referred to groups who lived outside of the coastal areas as residents of Egbo-Sharry Country.Ebengo was captured and sold to the Portuguese but was subsequently freed by a British warship and later settled in Waterloo, Sierra Leone.In the war that ensued, the British intervened and with the help of the Anaangs, they captured King Jaja and exiled him to the West Indies.[9][page needed] Following British colonialism and with changes and ban in ancient hunting practices, the Anaang witnessed attacks by wild animals.The Anaangs have a history and reputation for fearlessness and the ability of villages and clans to bind together to fight a common enemy.[11] Although leadership at the family, village, or clan level remains the prerogative of the men, lineage ties extends to women even after marriage.The Anang speak the Annang language and perform a masquerade after the yam harvest to mark the visit of ancestral spirits, or ekpo.[12] The strength of any individual, family (or group for that matter) is typically based upon a consensus of the village or clan through this complex social system.The Annang language is also mutually intelligible to speakers of Ibibio, Efik, Oron, Eket (also known as Ekid) of the Akwa Akpa (Old Calabar Kingdom).